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The exemplary novel of the Jazz Age, F. Scott Fitzgeralds' third book, The Great Gatsby (1925), stands as the supreme achievement of his career. T. S. Eliot read it three times and saw it as the "first step" American fiction had taken since Henry James; H. L. Mencken praised "the charm and beauty of the writing," as well as Fitzgerald's sharp social sense; and Thomas Wolfe hailed it as Fitzgerald's "best work" thus far. The story of the fabulously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan, of lavish parties on Long Island at a time when, The New York Times remarked, "gin was the national drink and sex the national obsession," it is an exquisitely crafted tale of America in the 1920s that resonates with the power of myth. A novel of lyrical beauty yet brutal realism, of magic, romance, and mysticism, The Great Gatsby is one of the great classics of twentieth-century literature. This is the definitive, textually accurate edition of The Great Gatsby, edited by Matthew J. Bruccoli and authorized by the estate of F. Scott Fitzgerald. The first edition of The Great Gatsby contained many errors resulting from Fitzgerald's extensive revisions and a rushed production schedule, and subsequent editions introduced further departures from the author's intentions. This critical edition draws on the manuscript and surviving proofs of the novel, along with Fitzgerald's later revisions and corrections, to restore the text to its original form. It is The Great Gatsby as Fitzgerald intended it.

Opinion

From Library Staff

(1925)
"At the end of World War I, the United States enjoyed the 'roaring 20s', a period of unprecedented prosperity marred by corruption, bootlegging, and the carelessness of the very rich. Enter Nick Carraway, the narrator of Jay Gatsby's tragic history with which Fitzgerald exposes the h... Read More &raquo

The story of the fabulously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan, of lavish parties on Long Island at a time when, The New York Times remarked, "gin was the national drink and sex the national obsession," it is an exquisitely crafted tale of America in the 19... Read More &raquo

From the critics

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I have just re-read this after many years and greatly enjoyed both the writing and Fitzgerald's portrayal of the fragile, frenetic times of the 1920's in USA. It is essentially a tragedy of Shakespearian proportions and deservedly a classic . Baz Luhrman got the film version just right.

The Great Gatsby by Scott F. Fitzgerald
The Great Gatsby is a novel which follows Nick Carraway. Carraway moves to West Egg to start a new life. He is immediately entranced by Jay Gatsby, in particular his lavish parties. Among other things Carraway often visits Daisy Fay Buchanan and Tom, for dinner since Daisy is his cousin. There he is introduced to another enthralling character, Jordan Baker. Over the course of a summer Nick attends various parties with his friends. Slowly, he also begins to learn the truth about his new company, namely the great Mr. Gatsby. This novel is a timeless classic that portrays the tragedy of lost love. Each character has there own unique personality and secret, each of which further enhances the story. The novel is also captures the spirit of the time period. Fitzgerald creates a vivid and glamorous picture of life at this time, marking it as one of the greatest works of American literature. In my opinion this book is a work of art, however it is not the plot that interests me so much. Of course the plot lacks nothing, yet it is the characters and the way he has told the story that interests me. Fitzgerald uses words like a paintbrush to bring his story to life. It is beautiful. The single place where the novel falls short is in its narration. At times it can be hard to follow, but maybe this is the genius of the it. It is possible he has told it through Carraway (an outsider) so that we will be slightly confused. It helps us to see Gatsby as the mysterious complex character he is. Something to think about while reading this gem.

Set in the early 1920s, The Great Gatsby emerges from the scores of literature to claim its rightful title as a classic.
I've seen the movie before when the DiCaprio version first came out, so I knew most all of the plot and conflicts, even if I couldn't remember it entirely. So when we started reading this for class, I found it pretty enjoyable and a nice, laid-back read. The themes, symbols, and extra little details in this book are so incredible, though I fear I would not have caught onto them without my teacher pointing them out and describing them in discussions. If I hadn't read this with my class, I still would have enjoyed it but probably wouldn't have been able to appreciate it as much.
As far as the characters go, they are all in some way or another dysfunctional, but add to the bleak mystery and wonder/hope of the story.

Quotes

Unlike Gatsby and Tom Buchanan, I had no girl whose disembodied face floated along the dark cornices and blinding signs, and so I drew up the girl beside me, tightening my arms. Her wan, scornful mouth smiled, and so I drew her up again closer, this time to my face.

A breeze blew through the room, blew curtains in at one end and out the other like pale flags, twisting them up toward the frosted wedding-cake of the ceiling, and then rippled over the wine-colored rug, making a shadow on it as wind does on the sea.

Most of the big shore places are closed now, and there are hardly any lights except the shadowy moving glow of a ferry boat across the sound. As the moon rose higher the inessential houses began to melt away, until gradually I became aware of the old island here that flowered once for Dutch sailor's eyes. A fresh green breast of the new world. It's vanished trees, the trees that made way for Gatsby's house, had once pandered in whispers to the last and greatest of all human dreams and for a transitory enchanted moment man must have held his breath in the presence of this continent, compelled into an aesthetic contemplation he neither understood 'nor desired, face to face for the last time in history with something commensurate to his capacity for wonder.

“He smiled understandingly--much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four of five times in life. It faced--or seemed to face--the whole external world for an instant, and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself, and assured you that it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey. Precisely at that point it vanished--and I was looking at an elegant young roughneck, a year or two over thirty, whose elaborate formality of speech just missed being absurd. Some time before he introduced himself I’d got a strong impression that he was picking his words with care.”

They were careless people, Tom and Daisy--they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.

Summary

The Great Gatsby , F. Scott Fitzgerald's third book, stands as the supreme achievement of his career. This exemplary novel of the Jazz Age has been acclaimed by generations of readers. The story of the fabulously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan, of lavish parties on Long Island at a time when The New York Times noted "gin was the national drink and sex the national obsession," it is an exquisitely crafted tale of America in the 1920s. The Great Gatsby is one of the great classics of twentieth-century literature.

Nick lives next door to a mysterious man named Gatsby, who throws parties. Nick becomes friends with him and learns that he is in love with Daisy.

Tom is suspicious of this, and he tries to prove that Gatsby is not who he seems. Daisy says that she will leave Tom for Gatsby.
Daisy then refuses to leave Tom for him, and makes him drive her home. Daisy is at the wheel when the car hits someone- coincidentally, Myrtle Wilson, Tom's other woman.

Mr. Wilson discovers his wife's affair, and asks around about the car that hit her . So, thinking that Gatsby hit her, Mr. Wilson goes to Gatsby's house and shoots him, and then shoots himself.

Gatsby dies alone, because no one shows up to his funeral except for Nick and his father.

“The story of the fabulously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan, of lavish parties on Long Island at a time where gin was the national drink and sex the national obsession, it is an exquisitely crafted tale of America in the 1920s."